I Still Believe
by MissDemeanours
Summary: What happened to Max after Episode 4? Will Nathan and Max be able to save Arcadia Bay? Or will Sean Prescott and Mark Jefferson stand in there way? Who was Rachel Amber and why did she die? (Violence, swearing).
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

There was nothing she could do.

"She's not dead. She can't be dead. I can still rewind."

She held her breath.

His heavy footsteps sauntered past her slowly, casually, eerily calm. She couldn't crane her neck enough to see what he was doing, which allowed her mind to envisage the worst.

She could see the bright lights, she knew what they were. She knew.

She knew and that was why she was here in the first place, and Chloe…

She couldn't think about it right now.

She battled with her eyes to fight the blinding white before them, to try and see past it, but she knew it was futile.

Had it been moments, or hours that she had been tied up in this corner? She could feel the stiffness in her legs, and figured it must be the latter. She tried to work out how many hours she would have to rewind to save Chloe, and herself. She couldn't lift her arm, but she could focus.

Come on, focus Max!

"Uh!" A jolt shot through her, jarring her senses. There was nothing. The power was gone. She had known it would only be a matter of time. There was no warning when it came and she had doubted there would be one when the power left. Of all the times to stop. She had gotten so used to it. She had started to use it almost effortlessly. Without it, she had never felt so powerless, _so helpless._

The noise that had voluntarily escaped her obviously caught his attention, because Jefferson's face was close to hers, brushing the hair from her face.

She stared straight back at him, into his eyes, but she couldn't see anything behind them. There was no emotion.

Even after seeing his face looming over her in the junk yard, before it had all faded to black, a small part of her hadn't been able to believe it. Jefferson was famous. He was friendly. He, he had a career. He couldn't possibly need to trap girls down here? He was famous! Girls would surely be tripping over themselves to do this for him _willingly, desperately._ He wouldn't need to force them. Victoria's name had been on that next folder, but when she had thrown herself at his feet he had rejected her. Surely that would have been his opportunity to pounce. He didn't know she had been watching.

Victoria.

Was she here? She was on the folder. Max couldn't see anyone. Jefferson had moved back behind the light.

There was a bright flash, followed by several more. As each flash went off her whole body instinctively tried to crawl away from it but she couldn't move. Her hands and feet were both tied up tight with duct tape. So tight it cut into her skin and she felt her fingers tingle where the blood struggled to get through.

"How many hours have I been here? Why have I been here so long? Why hasn't he killed me yet?"

Her eyes widen in fear "Was he waiting for me to wake up?"

But why?

Why not kill her with Chloe?

Chloe…

No. She couldn't think about that right now.

Suddenly the lights dimmed down low. She gazed upwards, towards a sofa. It was Jefferson, a faint smile crossed his face as he peered down at her, but he wasn't alone.

"Well, you've got your precious photos Mark, now shoot her" the older man snapped impatiently.

"I think we need to talk about this first" Principal Wells replied.

"What is there to talk about? She knows who we are" Jefferson countered calmly.

What was Principal Wells doing here? And that face, those stoic eyes, the tightly pursed, thin lips that sat below those hard eyes. She had seen that face before…

"He said she was important" Principal Wells urged them, sounding exasperated.

The old man sighed dejectedly, "He doesn't even know what day it is!"

"But he's been right so far…" Principal Wells began, before he was quickly cut off

"That doesn't _mean_ anything. If he knows so much, then how come he didn't see this" He gestured at Max without looking at her "problem coming our way? Or Rachel?"

"He did see her. He told us she could help." Wells pleaded.

"Help?" The older man sneered cynically, his voice rising slightly "All he's done is make things worse. Every time. We can't afford to take another risk because of him"

"If I may interrupt here gentlemen" Jefferson interjected calmly, authoritatively as he slowly stepped between the two men. "This is an ugly, ugly business. No one here _wants_ to shoot anybody." He said, looking pointedly at Wells. "But" He raised his hand to Well's face before he could interrupt "We can't fall subject to our emotions right now. We have to think about this logically."

He stopped a few feet away from Max, tapping his index finger on his lips, looking into her eyes. Max jumped. It was almost as if they had all forgotten she was still there. Awake. Listening to every word they had said.

"Bring him out here" Jefferson commanded.

The older man sighed, rubbing his hands through his hair, before leaving.

"Mark, listen to me, he knew about the whales, he knew about the snow, the fish. That can't just be a coincidence. If this really is…." Wells stumbled, choking on his words "The end. Maybe were being given another chance, to put things right"

Wells was standing next to Jefferson now, grabbing his arm.

"Calm down Ray, it's not the end of the world. It's called pollution. Anyone could have predicted that the Bay would become polluted. It doesn't take a genius"

"But that's just it. They've tested it. It's not!" Wells was practically shouting at him now.

"Just calm yourself!" Jefferson said. He didn't shout, not like Wells, but his voice had a sharp edge to it that made Max's stomach fall through the floor. She saw it had the same effect on Principal Wells too, because he stopped talking. Just like that, and walked backwards, his hand reaching for the bottle of whiskey that lay half full on the table.

Before Max could ask the one question that was on the tip of her tongue, the door burst back open and someone stumbled in front of her. His eyes were red, his face covered in dark purple bruises. He locked his eyes on her.

"Nathan" she gasped. She couldn't believe how relieved she was to see him. A familiar face amongst this chaos.

"She speaks" Jefferson remarked calmly.

"Well! Come on. It's all on you son, don't fuck it up." The older man growled, as he shoved Nathan into the middle before releasing his grip on his shoulder.

That's who he was. Max couldn't believe it had taken her so long to notice that the older man was Nathan's father. How could she not have seen it?

"What do you want me to say?" Nathan whispered timidly.

His father chuckled impatiently, almost manically at him "You make all of this fuss about keeping her alive and you can't tell me why? You really are a useless piece of shit sometimes"

Nathan locked eyes with Max, and she could see straight into his soul.

He was the one they were talking about?

 _Nathan?_

"Nathan" Principal Wells spoke softly, a tone she had never heard on him before. "You need to tell us what you know. It's important. What does she know?"

"I told you it doesn't work like that" he replied tiredly.

Nathan's father started pacing impatiently, slapping his hand against the wall "Well, that's just brilliant Nathan. Another fine charade you've had us all on, yet again. And for what?"

"Sean" Principal Wells pleaded

"What? You can't be serious? You of all people know how out of control this has become. There's causing a bit of trouble at school. Sure. What rich kid doesn't throw their weight around? Hell, I'd be disappointed if he didn't throw his weight around a bit. He is a Prescott, after all. But this! This" His eyes turned from Wells to Nathan, who seemed to hunch over, curling in on himself "This neediness, the attention seeking, this bullshit Nathan!" His father started slowly circling towards him. He placed a hand gently around Nathan's shoulders, so that his face was inches from Nathan's, and she saw Nathan's eyes were squeezed shut. "I've told you before this… it's not a game. Do you understand that?" He whispered casually into his ear.

"I'm not playing a game" Nathan answered weakly. She saw his father squeeze his shoulder tight, sighing deeply as he did so.

BAM!

"Ah!" She heard Nathan whimper. Max watched as Nathan clutched at the side of his stomach where his father had punched him with full force. She winced, but she couldn't look away. What on Earth was going on here?

Nathan's father coughed into his own fist, and looked down, straightening the front of his suit, before drawing himself to stand up straight again. He was a giant of a man, tall, broad and foreboding, and Nathan. Nathan seemed to be holding his breath as he doubled over in front of him.

"Do you understand?" His father asked him again, calmly, dare she say it even sounded kind? How had he changed so quickly? Is that where Nathan got it from?

"Yes sir" Nathan replied, defeated as he tried to stand up straight again, still holding his side. His eyes no longer looking at Max but at the white of the floor.

"If I may try something?" Jefferson intervened, looking at Sean Prescott.

Sean Prescott nodded quickly before stepping back.

"Nathan, what you have here is the opportunity to be a hero. Remember how you said you wanted to save people?" Jefferson asked him coolly.

Nathan's face was transfixed on the ground in front of him. He looked like he didn't want to be here about as much as Max did. He gave Jefferson a small nod.

"Well, talk to her. Ask her. You think she's special. Now's the time to find out. Do you know why it's so important Nathan?"

Nathan dared to give him a quick sideways glance.

Jefferson looked back at Sean Prescott, who stepped forward

"Nathan. Were all still picking up the pieces from your last fuck up. That blue haired girl you decided to photograph, the one you started blabbing to, we've already taken care of her for you"

Nathan's eyed darted up like lightning

"Chloe's dead?"

Max felt her own heart stop.

Sean Prescott nodded solemnly. "She didn't need to die son. Not if you hadn't decided to start blabbing. If you hadn't taken that damn photo."

Max saw Nathan's eyes fill and pour down his cheeks silently.

That was when Sean Prescott came back with a hand on his shoulder

"Son, I know that you found the whole Rachel thing hard. It was a terrible mistake. Who knew she would react so badly to GHB?" He asked, Max felt, a little too light heartedly,

Nathan was furiously wiping his eyes with the back of his red sleeve.

"I _understand_ , but we can't take any more risks and at the moment you're a loose cannon. We can't keep covering for your sloppy mistakes. This is business." He said for the second time.

"What your dad is trying to say is. It's up to you." Jefferson continued, still sounding dreadfully calm and collected. Max felt sick. If you can prove that she is in fact what you keep telling us she is, then, she lives. If not…." Jefferson's words trail away and all eyes turn towards Max.

Jefferson steps towards Max, brushing her hair once more as he whispers into her face "She dies"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Nathan?" It was eerily quiet. She could feel their eyes boring into her skin.

"Nathan?" She cried, this time urgently, loudly. Her fear was gone. What was there left to be afraid of. Chloe was…. dead.

She shook her head. She could fix it. She could still fix all of it. If only he would talk to her.

"Nathan please. Just tell me what to do"

Nathan's eyes slowly made their way up to meet hers. They looked dejected, hopeless.

"It wasn't supposed to end this way" He muttered.

"What?" She asked, almost to herself. What was he talking about? Did he mean for this to happen?

"The clock's ticking Nathan" Sean Prescott tutted impatiently, checking his wrist watch. Max would give anything to know what time it was right now. How many hours had been wasted here when she could be saving Chloe? If she even still could.

"Nathan. It's okay, just tell me what I need to do" She pleaded with him, softly. She desperately wanted to lift her hand up to touch his face.

"I didn't mean for her to die." He whispered breathlessly. He wasn't really speaking to her, or was he? He was looking into her eyes, but she wasn't following him.

"Nathan. If you don't help me they're going to kill me" She begged him.

Nathan nodded, tears dripping down his face.

"I can't save everybody" it was almost like a confession.

"You don't need to. You just need to help me" Max told him reassuringly.

He laughed then. Not happily. It was a rough, raw laugh. A nerve that had glitched.

"They're all going to die" He told her manically, his eyes glazing over.

She heard Sean Prescott mutter and she looked up to see him rolling his eyes.

"Not this shit again" He muttered, striding forward, but Principal Wells grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Who?" Max asked.

Nathan looked at her, his eyes narrowing "Everyone. This whole town. The storm. It's coming. Tonight."

Her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him, a billion tiny cogs all churning and aligning into place in her mind. This whole situation suddenly made some sort of sense to her.

"You know about the storm?" She asked him quietly.

He stopped, his eyes faltered slightly, waiting on her next move.

"Friday October 11th." She breathed quietly. She had his full attention. All of them were staring expectantly at her. A tornado. The lighthouse falls down"

Sean Prescott moved slightly closer.

"Go on…" He commanded sternly.

Max shook her head, searching for answers. "I…. I don't know anything else"

Sean Prescott tutted, annoyed at her answer. She felt panic rising up through her. That obviously wasn't good enough.

"Wait. There was something else" She called out after him, an urgency to her voice.

He turned back to look at her, and she took a moment. Should I do this? Is it even safe? She looked at Nathan. He obviously didn't know what she meant.

"I can't see any more of the future" she began. Sean Prescott scoffed at her "Typical" Nathan's eyes glazed back over.

"But I can change the past" She continued, ignoring him.

"I beg your pardon?"

She licked her lips nervously, her eyes keeping a steady watch on Nathan. Still nothing. He didn't know. Could he not do that too?

"I can go back in time."

Sean looked from Nathan to Max agitated. Nathan watched her nervously, his hands clenched together in front of him.

Mr Jefferson strode forward, eyeing her with suspicion.

"You expect us to believe that?" Sean Prescott queried. She didn't think she was supposed to answer, but she did anyway.

"It's true"

He laughed, walking closer towards her. Nathan was so close she could feel him flinch as his father grew closer.

He sighed heavily, just as he had done before he sucker punched Nathan. Was that his signal then? That you'd crossed the line? It wasn't normal. There wasn't any visible anger. That was the scariest thing about it. He gently pulled Nathan up by his arm, taking his place in front of her.

"Tell me little lady." He asked her, kneeling so that his face was next to hers, he cupped her chin gently in his hands "If you could go back in time, why on Earth would you still be here?" He smirked smugly to himself, before

SLAP!

She felt a stinging, burning sensation rise against her cheek.

He stood up, looking down at her, like she was a wounded bird he was about to tread on. "Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes, dear. If there's one thing I don't like, its liars. I thought Nathan would have told you that" He said, glancing at Nathan as he walked back.

Nathan was looking at her, panicked, biting his lip. Shifting his weight from foot to foot.

She refused to look down. She refused to be beaten.

"I can't do it with my hands tied." She yelled.

"Max" Nathan hissed at her, fear overtaking his voice. "Max just stop" he pleaded.

Sean Prescott had a glint in his eye. The edges of his mouth upturned. He actually got off on this?

"I need my right hand" She said quickly, hoping against hope he would listen to her.

He gave her a disbelieving look, folding his arms in front of him, before he turned to Nathan.

"Nathan. You sure know how to pick them don't you? Always so fiery. You know if Rachel had been a little bit smarter. If maybe she'd been able to just do what she was told" Sean Prescott rambled.

Then what? Max thought.

Did he kill her?

"What did you do to her?" Max demanded, somewhat shakily. She had nothing left to lose, but fear was a stubborn demon.

"What do you think I did to her?" He asked her.

"I…" She took a deep breath, possibly her last. "I think you killed her".

Sean Prescott chuckled to himself.

"Why would I kill her?"

"I don't know. Why would you do any of this?" Max asked. The more she spoke, the less scared she became. The bolder she felt. Chloe was dead. Rachel was dead. He might kill her. Hell, he was obviously going to kill her. She didn't want to die before she knew the truth.

"Oh dear, dear, dear, we are a nosey little bitch aren't we?" Sean Prescott shot at her.

Where had she heard that before? She glanced at Nathan, and quickly caught his gaze before returning to glare angrily at Sean Prescott.

She shrugged he shoulders "You might as well tell me. After all, I'm leaving here in a body bag, aren't I?" She knew she was pushing him now, egging him on.

He seemed to consider this for a moment, before he finally submitted.

"Ah, the lady makes a point. Unfortunately for you, no. I did not kill Rachel".

She didn't miss a beat "Then who did?"

Sean turned to Nathan.

"Nathan? Care to tell your friend here what happened?" he prompted. She watched Sean Prescott's face. He was actively enjoying this. He took pleasure from taunting his own son.

Nathan looked at Max, his sorrowful eyes full of guilt.

"I didn't mean to… I don't remember" He stuttered.

Sean Prescott squeezed Nathan's shoulder "You see Max. Nathan here, he had quite the soft spot for Rachel. He thought…" He sneered this last part "That she actually loved him"

Nathan looked broken at those words. Utterly broken.

"You see Nathan, he didn't understand what some people will do to get their hands on what is ours. Being a Prescott, it's not easy. You have to make sacrifices, and Rachel. Well, Rachel wanted to be famous. She wanted to be rich. She was using our Nathan here."

Max watched as Nathan's hands curled into fists.

"She never loved him. I kept telling him, but Nathan, he wouldn't listen. I needed to show him that. I needed to protect him you see?"

He paced back and forth whilst Nathan just stood, not watching him or acknowledging him, but listening. Oh he was listening to every word. One thing Max did know about Nathan was that he could never keep still, he was always twitching and fiddling. This was the first time she had seen him so still, like he wanted to disappear.

"I gave her the opportunity to be famous." He gestured towards Mark Jefferson, who stood emotionless, behind them.

"And she lapped it up like the little whore that she was" He said, turning to face Nathan, almost aching for him to react, to say something, but he didn't. He obviously knew better. This was obviously normal for him, it made her chest ache.

"That still doesn't explain how she died" Max pointed out, trying to keep calm.

"Of course not Maxine. You think I kill every greedy money grabbing whore who tries to get their hands on what is ours? I'd have to kill half the town! Oh no, she was never meant to die. She was given some drugs, yes"

"So you overdosed her?" Max pressed him. He was not talking his way out of the blame here.

"Oh my dear, dear girl. No one drugged Rachel. At least, not without her consent. She wanted those drugs. We just didn't realise how much. You see, little did we know she wasn't actually sober when she got here. She, well… "

Principal Wells finally, stepped in

"Rachel's death was an accident Max"

"So you just covered it up?" Max asked indignantly, bile rising up in her throat.

"What did you think I was going to do? Nathan should have listened to me, but these things happen" Sean Prescott reasoned.

"Are you serious right now?" Max felt herself shouting but she didn't care

"A girl died, and you just covered it up? Threw her out with the junk…"

Max felt her skin boiling. She had never felt so hot.

"And then you try and pin it on your own son?" She was starting to take deep breaths, hungrily sucking at the air around her.

"If he had just listened to me" Sean Prescott began, a hint of anger flecked in his voice. It was ever so slight, but it was there. He needed to control Nathan. Clearly it wasn't so easy when Rachel had been around.

"So what? If he doesn't listen to you, someone might die? Is that it? He has to do what you want or you might accidently kill somebody?" Max felt hysterical. She was shaking. She needed air, it felt like there was no oxygen in this room.

Principal Wells spoke up "Sean, she doesn't look right. Maybe some air"

Sean Prescott just glared at him.

"Or some water" He suggested meekly.

Sean Prescott looked her over, seeing her trembling in the corner. He paced across the room, contemplating his next move.

"Nathan, don't be rude. Go get your guest a drink". He said, his back turned so that he wasn't facing either of them.

Nathan glanced from his father to Max, then rushed over to the cabinet on the far side of the room.

Max took this chance to survey the room. Well, unless she was hidden, Victoria wasn't here. Surely that was a good thing. Although Max couldn't help but selfishly feel ever that bit more alone knowing she was the only one left here. The only person who knew she was here was Chloe.

Her heart felt like a rock, it made her whole body sag heavily to the floor. There wasn't any windows in this room and she felt like her skin was on fire. What was happening to her?

She felt a hand cradle her head. When had she closed her eyes? Had it been a second, or another few hours.

"She felt something cold pressed against her lips. Slowly, she opened her eyes to find Nathan's face staring down at her, inches from her own. He was holding a bottle of water to her lips. Instinctively she went to grab it, but then felt the pull of the tape on her wrists.

"Its okay" He soothed at her, lifting her head slightly and holding the bottle so that she could drink from it.

His hands were trembling, but felt ever so soft. So gentle. She felt tears prick her eyes. Is this what he'd been doing this whole time? What else had happened down here? And for how long? And why? Her head felt heavy and clogged. She couldn't put the pieces together. Not when his hands were so soft on her head.

"You have to help me Nathan" She whispered, hoping only he could hear her.

All she knew for certain was that he was the only other person on the planet who had also seen the storm and he was the only reason she was still alive right now. She felt her eyelids drooping, and as the darkness enveloped her, she thought she heard him whisper back "I will".


	3. Chapter 3

"My powers might not last forever Chloe"

"That's okay, because we will"

A gun shot. Blue hair floating onto the ground.

She bolted upright, gasping, her eyes wide.

"Chloe!" She called out, hoping that none of it had been real.

She looked ahead. She was on a white couch. Everything here was white. Pristine.

Her heart sank. She was still here. In the dark room.

Where did they go? Why wasn't she dead yet?

She glanced around frantically, before her eyes found him.

Mark Jefferson.

He was leaning back in a black chair, one leg laying flippantly over the other. One of his hands was resting on the arm. The other was in his lap. A glint of silver shone from it. She froze.

"Where's everyone gone?" She asked too quietly. She had meant to sound assertive, but the gun his hand made her grow cautious.

He was staring at her.

She stared down at herself. Her hands and legs were untied. She was still dressed. "Thank God" she thought to herself. She looked around, but Nathan, Principal Wells and Sean Prescott were nowhere to be seen.

It was then that she really started to panic.

"Where is everybody?"

He continued staring at her, as though she were a lab rat. His eyes were focused and observant. And still completely void of any emotion.

She swung her legs over the couch so that she was facing him where she sat. She didn't trust herself to stand yet. Her body still felt heavy and clunky. She knew they had drugged her and she knew why. What she couldn't work out was whether they were about to kill her, and she didn't feel like she could wait another moment to find out.

"Are you going to shoot me?" She asked him, forcing herself not to stammer in fear.

Don't show him any weakness. That's what he wants.

He leaned forward, looking at her.

"How does it feel?" He asked her, his soothing voice seeming to disregard all of her questions.

"How does what feel?" Max asked, a little too quickly.

"How does it feel knowing you will die?"

She frowned at him. So he continued, moving the gun around in his hand as he did so.

"I mean, we all speculate. We can all sit and think about how it might feel. But no one truly knows, do they?" He lifted the gun, aiming it at her temple "Until they are staring it in the face"

She lost her nerve then

"Don't! Please, don't kill me" She begged

"Tell me how it feels" He demanded, that edge rising up in his voice again.

"It… " She glanced up at him. Was this really it? This was how she would die?

"Go on" He asked, standing up to bring the gun closer

"My hearts thumping so hard it aches."

"Go on" he insisted

"My body is shaking, trembling, and I can't control it"

Something snapped then, because he got mad. He didn't lash out, but he grabbed her shoulder and pressed the gun so that she could feel the cold metal of the gun pushing into her skull. She cried out, but he just tightened his grip.

"Come on now Max, I know you're a better student than that. Your body? That's all reflexes. How does it feel inside that pretty little head of yours?"

She was taking in sharp, short breaths now. "I'm…. I'm terrified okay?" She began, and once she did, she couldn't seem to stop. "I feel hopeless, powerless, _insignificant_. I feel so…. _So small_. So tiny. You could blow my brains out and this whole Earth would just keep on turning. Nothing would change. I'm thinking about every stupid thought I've had and how I should have told somebody because now no one will ever know and those thoughts will just disappear. I'm thinking about the darkness. No the _loneliness_ of dying. I'll be so, so alone. Just like Chloe is now. My body will just be eaten away into nothing. I'm thinking why didn't I just fucking enter my stupid photos? Why didn't I kiss Chloe? Or Warren? Why didn't I take a chance on love? I'm going to die without ever loving somebody. I'm thinking about all the times I wasted my rewind power to make people like me, when I should have been using it to help Kate, or Rachel or the world. I'm thinking about you. About how no one will ever know any of this ever happened!"

She was crying, sobbing. Her arms wrapped around herself for protection.

She could see blue hair and her father's smile. She could feel Warren's warm arm wrapped around her shoulders, the deep hazel in the eye of the doe. She could smell the chlorine in her hair from a late night swim and the dirt and grit of the junk yard. She could feel Nathan's soft hands holding her head and the taste of freshly cooked bacon. She could feel infinite joy and sadness as they flashed in front of her.

She could feel the metal moving away, and the grip loosen on her shoulder.

A camera flashed.

"Just do it!" she cried.

But he didn't listen to her. He walked backwards, and away from her.

A part of her wanted to call him back.

Her rewind power. She lifted her arm up. Focusing. "Uh" another jolt, and she keeled over slightly.

Nothing.

Was it really gone forever?

Had it ever even existed? She couldn't remember. Was she mad? Was this how Nathan felt?

"What are you doing?" He asked, agitated.

"This is how it's supposed to work" She tried to explain, as blood trickled down her nose.

"How what works?"

"My rewind power" She told him. She had nothing to lose.

"Oh, right. You're 'power'" he replied cynically. She couldn't believe his composure. It was like they were talking about what to have for breakfast.

"Just relax alright? I'm not going to kill you, even if I wanted to, so you can stop with all of that bullshit" He didn't believe her. He didn't believe any of it. She wasn't sure she even believed it anymore.

"You're not?" She asked. She didn't believe that for a minute.

"Bosses orders" He lifted his hands up as he shrugged his shoulders

"The boss?" she asked, forgetting herself.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "Sean Prescott" He offered.

Had Nathan convinced them? Was she really safe? She highly doubted it. What would happen next? They'd just let her walk out of here, knowing what she does. She didn't think so.

"Yeah, right" She replied sarcastically "You're just going to let me go"

"I didn't say that. I said _I've_ been ordered not to kill you. Not yet, and if there's one thing I know. It's not to upset the boss. You can have that advice for free." He told her, sitting back down in his chair, the gun still in his hand.

Her mind was unravelling.

"Then what was that about?" She asked him, anger flaring up in her voice. She still wasn't sure whether she had actually wanted him to kill her. In that split second before he moved the gun away, she had almost wished him to do it. To end it all.

"Art" He answered. No more. No less.

She felt like her insides were on fire

"You made me think you were going to put a bullet in my head…. For art?" Even as she was saying it she couldn't quite believe it was true.

She glared at him, a layer of tears filmed her eyes "You are evil" She told him coldly. It was the first completely fearless thing she had said for what felt like years and it felt good.

"True art doesn't exist otherwise Max"

"Why?"

"Always take the shot Max."

"You're insane". Her voice was breaking over the words.

"I'm famous. I'm rich. I'm respected. I see people in a way that no one else sees them. Do you know how special that is Max? That, that's a real power." His words were laced with pride and it was making her feel sick.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

He stopped and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"You killed Rachel on purpose."

Mark Jefferson, for the first time that night, looked flustered. Not completely. You could barely notice it if you weren't looking for it. The slightest twitch on his face.

"It wasn't an accident" Max felt like the curtains were finally open.

"Why? For art? Was that all she was worth?"

"Max." He began, leaning forward in his chair. "I know you think you know everything. Everyone does at your age." He sighed "But like I said. I only follow orders".

"So Sean Prescott wanted her dead. Whatever. You killed her. It wasn't an accident, was it?" She dared him to tell her otherwise. She knew. She'd seen it in that twitch of his face.

"Why does Nathan think it was an accident?" Max kept asking all of these questions, but she didn't need him to answer. She knew. As soon as she said it his face gave him away.

"Why does the most powerful man in Arcadia Bay need to lie to his own son? Because he'd lose him. Lose his control. You…." She began, her mind ticking over. She was the one pacing the room now "You all needed him to think he'd caused this all to happen. You needed to control him." She was pointing her finger at him now, accusingly.

"Max, it is not for you or I to get involved. I follow orders. You should do too. If you know what's best for you"

"Why? You've already said you're not going to kill me, so what…"

"You never met Rachel Amber, did you Max?" He cut in "Rachel was a live wire too. She didn't take orders. Beautiful to photograph. _Magnificent_ " He sighed, his hands reaching up in the air. Her spirit in those final moments was so, so sweet. He grimaced then, shaking his head.

"Tell me Max, why do you think Mr Prescott needed Rachel dead?"

He asked her, his face blank.

"She loved Nathan. He couldn't handle that he'd lost control" She began

He smirked "Rachel never loved Nathan. Not really" Max wanted to speak up, to defend her, to defend Nathan, but she faltered, she had nothing.

"Don't you think it's weird how everyone was in love with Rachel Max? She had a way of making everyone feel like they were something special when they were with her. Even me." She shuddered at those last words.

"Chloe, Frank Bowers, Evan, Justin, Nathan, Me? You really think she truly loved any of us? No" He began, shaking his head "No, Rachel never loved anyone as much as she loved herself. No, Sean Prescott didn't ever need to kill her. She would have moved on from Nathan soon enough. Just like she did with everybody. No" He stood so his face was up against hers

"So then why?" She asked him, whispering into his face.

"Sean Prescott made her an offer she couldn't refuse. But you see, that was the thing about Rachel" He cooed at her, stroking her face "The more you told her she couldn't have something, the harder she fought to have it." He stepped back slightly, still looking deep into her eyes.

"No. Rachel didn't die for love. She died because Sean Prescott couldn't tell her what to do"

Max felt tears sting her eyes, thinking about his words. Thinking about Chloe, and how if she hadn't tried looking for Rachel, she might still be alive. She thought back to Frank, and that stupid bracelet. She thought back to Evan's portfolio, Daniel's portraits, and Nathan. Nathan's clenched fists as his dad had mocked him. She fought back the tears, desperate to argue. To say something. Anything. She couldn't stand the idea that Mark Jefferson might just be right.


	4. Chapter 4

She didn't know how long she had been staring at the white on the ceiling before she heard the door slam. They were back. She couldn't explain the relief she felt at seeing that red jacket. With both of them here, they might just make it out alive.

She looked at them from her position on the couch. Mark Jefferson's words had left her speechless. He was heartless. He was evil, but he wasn't lying. She was sure about that much. He was here to follow orders, and Rachel Amber hadn't. Is that why they shot Chloe? She couldn't follow orders either. Principal Wells was there. He looked uncomfortable and weary. Did he want to be doing this? Was he following orders too? She looked at Sean Prescott. Those thin lips and hard eyes. Everyone was following him. She was still alive then it had to be because he wanted her to be, but why? She couldn't get the rewind power to work, and he didn't believe them about the storm. So why the bunker? Why all the food and water? And why keep her alive? Was it for Nathan? She couldn't work out what was going on. Earlier she'd seen him punch him, mock him, bring him to tears. Yet, she was still here, and he was lying to him. Did he care about him? Or was it just a sick need to control everything? She couldn't tell anymore.

Her eyes rested on Nathan. He still had bruises all over him, and he was staring at her, relief washing over his face. Did he think she was dead too?

He walked over and sat beside her, offering her… a sandwich?

She looked at him quizzically. Then at his father.

Sean Prescott.

"Maxine. It seems my son thinks you are important. Whilst I disagree with him, Principal Wells seems to think their might be some truth to it so, against my better judgement, you'll need to stay here, for a while at least. I suggest you eat something. Mark, I trust you to keep this matter in hand?" He asked, exasperatedly, his hand flapping towards Nathan and Max.

Mark Jefferson nodded silently, still leant back in the chair, the gun an ever constant reminder in his hand.

"Until when?" Her voice croaked out. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had last spoken.

He coughed. "Friday".

The storm. Could it be, that he was scared? Or was this all to placate Nathan?

"What happens after that?" She pushed him.

He walked over to the door. Opening the handle. "That, is up to you" he declared, before he left. Principal Wells following shortly behind him.

"Here" Nathan was still holding out the sandwich, like it was the most normal thing in the world. He stared at her face for a few seconds, before realising what a futile attempt it was.

She stared at him, sitting next to her. His breathing slow and steady. His voice calm. Had he been drugged? His eyes looked weird and wiry.

"Nathan? Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Just another shitty day" He spoke into the floor, rubbing the dirt from his trainer across the pristine white on the floor below.

"How long have I been here for?" Max asked him

He looked at his watch, "I don't remember. Maybe 20, 21 hours?" He guessed, shrugging.

He turned her gaze towards Mark Jefferson, who sat silently, watching their every move, like a fly on the wall. He really was for hire, wasn't he?

It was her turn to sigh now  
"How long until Friday?" She asked, turning back to Nathan.

He looked at his watch again, like he'd completely forgotten he'd just looked at it. He was really messed up. "12 hours"

She left it a moment, considering how she was even supposed to ask the next question

"What happens?"

He turned to face her then, a dazed look on his face.

"You've seen the storm too right?" She asked, knowing full well the answer.

"So, how do we save Arcadia Bay?" She asked, feeling, for the first time in a long time, like there might still be hope somewhere.

His look is quizzical now

"I'm… we're supposed to do something right? How do we save everybody?"

He sighed then, looking back at the ground

"Nathan, it's okay" She reached out and squeezed his arm reassuringly. "We need to focus right now. Forget all of this. We don't have the time. We're both seeing this stuff for a reason. We need to work out what it is. Tell me, what do you see? How do we save everybody?"

He falls forward until his head rests in his hands. "We don't".

Her hand that was squeezing his arm gently pulled his arm away from his face, so she could see him. "What do you mean?"

He lets out a frustrated sigh "You are _so_ stupid Max." He shrugged her arm off of him. The Nathan she knew before was back. "You think I'm going to be able to save everybody? You think you're so smart Max, but you don't _see_ anything."

She kept staring at him. He was right. Before, when he spoke to her like this. She didn't see what he was trying to tell her. She thought he was being an asshole. He sure sounded like one. But he wasn't. It was never that. He was trying to warn her. Trying to help her. His words were filled with hate, but it wasn't for her. It never had been.

She shuffled closer, placing her hand back on his arm despite the sneer he gave her. "I see you".

He allowed himself to give her a sideways glance.

She let her hand rise up and brush his cheek and felt his skin tremble at her touch but he didn't pull away.

Minutes went past, with Max softly stroking the side of his face, his hair. The back of his neck. He fell towards her, leaning on her arm and she gently rubbed his back. She didn't bother to look at Mark Jefferson, she just wanted to pretend he wasn't even there.

"What do you see?" She wasn't sure if he'd asked, or if she'd imagined it, his voice was so tiny.

She looked at him, his eyes glazed and distant. His breathing heavy. All these drugs he was on were obviously to keep him mellow and manageable. Everything seemed to be about control. About power. Was it really working? Was it worth it?

She used her other hand to pull his face so he was looking at her.

"I see a hero Nathan." She whispered at him. She needed him to feel it. To feel that someone cared.

"We can do this" She said afterwards. She didn't know who she was trying to convince more? Nathan or herself.


	5. Chapter 5

"Nathan. You need to tell me what you've seen"

"I can't" He threw a look at Mark Jefferson, curling and uncurling his hands together on his lap.

"Him? He doesn't believe us anyway" She felt venom in her tone. She let her eyes hold his for a moment. She wanted him to see how much she hated him. She couldn't let it consume her though. She had to focus. She had to forget. Just for now.

"He's a fucking snake in the grass" Nathan spat, looking up at him.

Jefferson was staring at them both, he seemed unfazed by it all. He let their hate wash over him as he leaned back in that fucking chair. It just made Max even more furious with him. Waves of anger rising up through her body. She finally understood what it would take to push her over the edge. She clenched her fists. Maybe she already was.

Don't Max. You need to think right now. She thought, taking a deep breath.

"I know how much you hate him." She began "Believe me" She said, nearly laughing at how ridiculous this whole situation was. Less than a day ago, she had worshipped that man. He was the whole reason she was at Blackwell to begin with. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand, trying to calm down. "I _know_ how much" She saw his fists clenching just like her own and she squeezed his leg. "We will deal with it later. I _promise._ Right now, you need to tell me what's going to happen. There are still people out there"

Nathan's leg started shaking under her hand.

"I know, I fucking know alright" He snapped back at her. He let out a frustrated sigh.

He rubbed his face with his hands, breathing out.

"I've tried to fix it, okay? You think I didn't think about that when I saw it? I keep trying to change it so that the things I see won't happen but every time" His voice cracked slightly, and she saw him bite his hand. "Every time" He started again, slower, more deliberate "It happens anyway." His eyes filled with tears.

"Do you have any idea what that's like?" He pleaded with her.

"No" she whispered, regret consuming the word.

He stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes. He stood with his back to them both, his leg twitching below him.

Max stood up, standing delicately behind him, she daren't touch him. She didn't feel she had the right to.

"Nathan." She began, waiting for him to turn and face her. When he didn't, she carried on anyway. "I don't know what that's like, but I do know what it's like to try and make things better only to make them worse." She sighed, glancing back at Jefferson. Fuck him. She thought. What does it even matter if he's here or not anymore. "I, I tried to save somebody, with my rewind power. Chloe's dad. He… he died a long time ago. I, I stopped him from going in his car, because I wanted so desperately for him to live." She felt her voice breaking. "but when I went back to the present, Chloe was…. She was dying and I couldn't…"

She sobbed. "I couldn't save her." She felt that dull ache in her chest rise up and consume her like a tsunami. Chloe was dead. She still couldn't save her. "I, I still didn't save her" she cried, holding her arms.

Nathan slowly turned towards her, his eyes facing the ground again. "You can't rewind anymore?" He asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice.

She lifted her arm. Focusing hard in front of her.

She jolted back "Uh"

Nathan caught her arm, a concerned look crossing his face. "You're bleeding" He muttered, wiping the blood away with his sleeve.

"I can't. It's gone!" She whimpered. In that moment she felt completely hopeless.

She felt his arms wrap around her and she clung onto the back of his jacket as raw sobs escaped from her body. In that moment, she wished more than ever that Jefferson had pulled the trigger.

"It's not your fault" You hear him whisper.

You look up at him, your soul black and weary

"It's not yours either" you tell him.

His eyes flicker away, down towards the ground. He swallows a lump in his throat.

"You know Rachel" she began

"Okay, love's young dream, that's enough" Jefferson interrupted, dragging her away and pulling her down onto the chair he had just been sitting on. His eyes bored into her, a silent warning to shut up and shut up fast.

But she didn't care. Not anymore. She wants him to pull the trigger. This miserable, lonely life. Where it doesn't matter what you do because in the end you still won't have Chloe. You can never save her.

She hears herself shout it before she can stop herself.

"They meant to kill her Nathan." She rises back up from the chair, her body pushing at Jefferson's chest, trying to run through him to Nathan.

Nathan's just staring at her.

Jefferson's tries to cover her mouth but she bites down hard and he recoils his hand for just a moment, but a moment was all she needed.

"Your dad. Jefferson. It was no accident. They wanted her dead. It's not your fault"

Nathan's eyes are flickering between the two of them. His mouth ever so slightly open.

Silence never felt so deadly. So heavy. So fucking loud.

Jefferson freezes, one arm wrapped around Max, holding the gun, and the other covering her mouth, even though it's too late.

Max would almost believe she had frozen time again, if it weren't for the rise and fall of Jefferson's chest against her back.

"What?" Nathan chokes out.

No one answers.

Nathan looks at Jefferson and Jefferson holds his gaze.

"Is it true?" Nathan sniffs loudly, trying to suck the oxygen out of the room.

Jefferson's cheek twitches slightly. The Nathan begins to laugh. Manically, quietly, a hand touching his lips, he wanders around the couch, pacing. He places the palm of his hands together, and covers his mouth with them, still breathing deeply.

"You fucking evil…" He begins, before lunging towards Jefferson from behind the sofa.

She feels Jefferson's grip loosen, as he pushed her to the side.

"Nathan" he tries to reason, but Nathan's eyes are filled with hate and hurt.

"You bastard" He yells, throwing his body at him, punching him. He's smaller than Jefferson, but he doesn't seem to care.

"You lying, evil, bastard!" the shrieking sound his voice makes is terrifying as he pummels into Jefferson. He's thrown him to the floor, lying on top of him.

Jefferson's bigger, and he wards off most of the blows with his arms, but some get through, cutting his cheek.

Jefferson's gun has fallen to the side in the commotion. Max watches, her eyes darting between them and the gun. She dives down and grabs it.

Nathan's howl is animalistic. "I loved her!" he cries on top of him, his blows dying down as Jefferson holds Nathan's wrists at a distance.

"You know I loved her" he cried, gulping after every word.

Jefferson doesn't say a word. He just holds Nathan by the wrists, waiting him out. He looks unfazed by it all and Max can't help but wonder whether this has happened before. Whether this is why they keep pumping him with drugs. It's the only reason Nathan hasn't been able to beat the life out of Jefferson. His body is too small, too weak. His eyes are too unfocused, his punches clumsy.

Nathan eventually sits back, still breathing heavily, before lifting himself off of Jefferson.

Jefferson reaches for his gun as he goes to stand up, his eyes widen as he looks up.

"Max" He says calmly, raising his palm in front of the barrel. "Let me just explain"

The weight of the gun was heavier than she thought it would be. It's clunky and cold in her hands. She keeps her eyes firmly on Jefferson.

"Don't move" She shouts, a little too loudly, pointing the gun at Jefferson.

"Max, give me the gun" He says, shifting his body nearer and nearer to her.

She feels her nerve leaving her, she glances at Nathan, dishevelled, silent beside her. She glances back at Jefferson 

He reaches out to her again "I said don't fucking move!" She screeches.

"You don't want to kill anyone. Nobody here does" He says softly, convincingly.

He starts to rise up from the floor, still heading towards her.

Her hands are trembling and she tries to focus on keeping them straight but her palms are sweaty. She takes a step backwards, she trips, her hands clench to try and stop her fall.

BANG!


	6. Chapter 6

Deafening white noise exploded through her mind. She held her hands to her head to stop everything rattling inside of her. She had fallen over. Where was the gun?

Slowly, she opened her eyes, which at some point she had squeezed shut, to see Nathan's face above her, his arm pulling her up, his mouth was moving but she couldn't hear anything. Only the white noise. She felt his hand trembling as it gripped her wrist, swearing. His face was pale and his hair fell about his head.

His face was so close, but all she could hear was the faint buzz, like a dead telephone line.

His tight grip was pulling her away, towards the door.

She tried to look back but his clenched hand tugged her forcefully away and she didn't have time.

Nathan pulled at the door with his spare hand, she noticed a glint of silver catch the light in his jacket pocket, before the door slowly opened.

He was dragging her up the stairs.

She followed him clumsily, her feet slipping on each step, her breaths sharp and shallow. He pulled them through the barn, out into the open. His eyes, darting around. They were searching for something. He locked his eyes on Jefferson's car and he pulled her towards it, his footsteps heavy and deliberate.

His hands rattled and shook at the handle. He looked back at her, his eyes pleading. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She looked around, not knowing what she was doing. She walked towards the fence, scanning the rubbish strewn over the grass. She spotted a brick and lifted it up, walking towards the car.

Nathan stepped back as she threw it at the window, her whole body willing it to break.

SMASH!

She covered her face as tiny shards flew through the air, scattering over the floor. She went to step forwards, but Nathan's red sleeve gently pushed her back. Using his jacket as a shield, he brushed over the edges of the window, sweeping any remaining shards onto the floor.

He leant through the window and opened the door. Nathan sat down and leaned over, opening the door on the other side. Max didn't hesitate as she ran around to get in.

As she sat in the passenger seat she watched Nathan, staring hopelessly at the steering wheel.

"Fuck" He muttered to himself, thumping his fist on the wheel. His eyes half lifted up to meet her face. He looked _devastated._ Should she have told him about Rachel? Was escaping worth that look on his face right now?

The air was thick and heavy as she sat there staring at him.

"Wait here" he commanded

She watched as he pulled the gun out of his pocket and leant to get out of the car.

"Nathan, no!" She yelled after him as he made his way back into the dark room. Panic pulsating through her veins, she rushed out of the car and after him.

She ducked down through the gap into the barn, to find Nathan standing a few feet away from Jefferson. Jefferson's hands were up in the air, and she could see blood seeping from his left leg.

"Nathan, think about what you're doing" He said calmly.

"Give me your keys" he spat out. Gun trembling in his hands.

Jefferson reached inside his black jacket, pulling them out

"You think I'm a fucking idiot? Throw them"

Jefferson winced from the pain in his leg, then threw them into the space between them. Max ducked down between them and grabbed them anxiously. She felt Nathans arm grab her and push her back behind him. His vision fixated on Jefferson.

"Come on, Nathan, let's go" you say softly, tugging at his hand.

"But he doesn't move. His face is trembling but it's not fear.

Its pure hatred.

"Did you cry?" He asked him. His voice venomous, daring, goading him on.

"When you killed her? Did you even shed a fucking tear?"

He was practically yelling at him.

"Nathan. You know it wasn't up to me" Jefferson answers, holding his palms up in front of him

"I wish it could have been different"

Nathan scoffed at that.

"That's your excuse?" Nathan spat, stepping towards him

"Nathan!" Max yells at him, but he's not listening to her.

"You know, all she wanted. _All_ we wanted. Was to get out of this fucking piece of shit town." Nathan reflected, his voice weighted down with his grief.

"We were going to leave this place."

Jefferson started shaking his head

"Nathan" he said, his slick smoothness returning. Max didn't trust it. Sean Prescott could come back at any minute. Fuck, he'd probably already rang him.

"Nathan we have to go!" She urged, pulling at his shoulder. But he shrugged her off.

"She wasn't like everybody else" His voice was softening, the gun shaking more and more in his hands. His eyes filled with the memories of her "She _cared_ about me. She _understood."_

Max felt her eyes filling up. His voice faltered for a moment, but the gun never did. It remained locked onto Jefferson.

"She was my angel" He said softly.

"She didn't love you Nathan"

Max clenched at Jefferson's words. Nathan's body stiffened

"you fucking liar!" His face flushed red as he stepped closer to Jefferson, his lips tightening, small breaths rising in and out through his nose.

"I'm not lying. You _know_ I don't lie Nathan. Not to you" Jefferson said. Was he being genuine? Max couldn't tell.

A tear rolled down Nathan's cheek.

"You lied about killing her"

"You know" Jefferson said calmly "You know I have to do what he says. Just like you" Jefferson limped towards him. Max couldn't help but admire his balls. He'd already been shot once, even if it was an accident.

"Bullshit!" Nathan yelled "You have lied about everything! You're just like him!" Nathan raised his other hand, to keep the gun steady, keep it focused.

"Nathan don't!"

"Why the fuck not Max? He killed Rachel. He killed Chloe. Did you know that too? That was him. He's an evil fucking bastard." Nathan's manic eyes shone in the darkness of the barn. "That's not the half of it is it Mark?" Nathan jeered. She flinched when he used his first name, but she didn't know why. Maybe it was because Sean Prescott was the only other person she knew to do that.

"Did you know he makes them all think they're going to die first?" He answered, looking back at Max.

Max's mind flashed back to earlier, in the dark room. The loneliness she had felt. The craving for death to come for her. Is that why Kate had jumped? She gulped. Looking at him.

"Did you know he sees it too? Or at least that's what you said, wasn't it Mark?"

She looked at them, not understanding what they meant anymore.

"He knows it's true. He _knows_ its fucking true."

"He knows what's true?" She asks tentatively,

"The storm. He saw it. Didn't you?"

Max stares between them, not understanding.

"But…" she stammered, looking at them both. "No, Nathan, he didn't believe me"

Jefferson was staring at Nathan, at the gun

"Tell me Max. Do you trust him?" Max looked at him before lowering her head

"Well do you?" Anger spew forth from every word.

"No" She said softly, lowering her head.

"I did. Once. I kept seeing him in my visions. And he said" Nathan choked out the last words "He said he saw me too. He saw the storm, and me and… you" As Nathan's spoke Max felt the thoughts whizz and spin around her brain. None of it made any sense.

"I don't understand." She whispered, looking at Jefferson.

"Why? Why won't you help us?" She stared at his eyes, even now he wasn't trembling. Even with a fucking gun to his head.

"Don't underestimate yourself Max. I keep telling you that. You do understand"

She looked back to Nathan because she didn't. She didn't get it at all.

"He wants the world to burn" Nathan spat, his voice cracking and broken.

"You think shooting me will stop the storm?" Jefferson giggled. Was he happy?

Nathan swooped over and grabbed Jefferson from behind, holding his head, the barrel pressed up against his skin.

Max went to call out to Nathan again, to stop him, but she couldn't. Her body froze.

"How does it feel?" she held herself whisper.

Jefferson looked at her, a smirk lingering on his face.

"Just like you described it" He replied, a sick, twisted smile plastered across his face.

She kept her eyes on his, she watched, never once looking away, as the light in them faded to black and the gun shot rang out through the barn.

She watched his body go limp, falling to the ground. The thick, deep red seeping effortlessly in a trail down his head, soaking his white shirt, seeping into the hay on the barn floor.

There was so much blood.

Max was still staring into his now vacant eyes.

What the fuck just happened?

One moment they were free. They were so close. What had they done? She could have stopped it. She could have stopped him from pulling the trigger. But she didn't.

It wasn't just that she hadn't. She had deliberately chose not to.

Something from deep inside shook until her whole body was trembling.

She thought about Chloe. She wandered if she had looked into anyone's eyes the moment she died.

Had she felt the loneliness?

Her head hurt. She looked at Nathan. His body was trembling too. The gun in his jittering hand, swinging down between his fingertips. She walked across, placing her hand over his, to still it, but she couldn't. She took the gun from him, pulling his arm.

"Come on" She whispered. He let her lead him away, his face frozen in another time. They ducked out of the barn. Mark Jefferson's body lying lifeless on a bed of hay.

She got into the driver's seat. She hadn't driven very often, but she knew how. Just. She placed the keys in the ignition, and they drove away, silence and sadness filling the air.


	7. Chapter 7

The road stretched out for miles. She didn't know where they were or where they were going to and she didn't dare look at Nathan right now.

What the fuck had just happened?

She kept seeing his fucking smirk before his eyes went black.

Why was he smirking?

She kept thinking back to that moment in the dark room, when the gun had been at her head. How she had craved for it all to end, all the thoughts, that bottomless feeling of loneliness. But most of all.

To end the constant fear of death.

A suffocating black shadow, creeping up from behind. Not knowing how or what would happen, but just lying like a sitting duck, waiting, that was the worst part. Was that why he was smirking? Because he knew, and he couldn't wait for it anymore? She couldn't stop thinking about it.

She felt herself shudder.

A million thoughts were rushing around her head.

Chloe, the storm, Jefferson, the dark room, Nathan, Chloe, Warren, Jefferson, the gun, the storm.

The gun

The gun

Glinting and glimmering in the darkness as Jefferson's light went out. She stared at it, resting on the dashboard in front of them. Motionless.

What the fuck were they going to do? They had just killed somebody. She might not have been the one to pull the trigger, but she was certainly the one who wanted him dead. Wanted to watch him die.

Nathan was frozen beside her. Deadly quiet. His eyes spaced out and staring into the distance. She could only wonder what he was thinking right now, but she was too afraid of the answer to ask.

They drove on in silence. The orange glow of the sun beaming down, washing over their pale, tired skin.

"Where should we go?" Max was the first to speak. She wasn't sure how long they had been driving for.

When Nathan didn't reply she turned down a side road, making sure they were hidden from view. No doubt Sean Prescott would be looking for this car. Looking for them.

She turned the ignition off and they sat in silence.

"Could Jefferson really see the storm Nathan?" Max asked him

Nathan shifts in his seat, moving his hand to his face, sighing. There was a long, drawn out pause. She didn't want it to be true.

"We need to get rid of this fucking car" He says, ignoring Max. "My dad will be looking for it". He glances at the gun, but leaves it sitting on the dashboard as he gets out, slamming the door behind him. Max hesitates, grabs the gun, shoving it into her jeans, underneath her grey jacket, and follows him.

Nathan has already started sprinting up ahead, towards some small shops.

"Nathan, wait" Max breathes, running out of breath as she tries to keep up.

"We need to get some money, so that we can get another car" He tells her. His voice emotionless.

He walks to the nearest cash machine. Quickly slipping in a card and withdrawing as much money as it will give him. He does this with several different cards, before throwing them onto the ground.

"Won't he be able to track us through that?" She asks

He glares at her "No shit, Caulfield. That's why we need to move fast. Get as much cash as we can, and pay for everything else in cash, okay?" He snaps at her, shoving notes into her hands.

"Okay" She nods, shoving it into her pockets. Her satchel, her phone, her camera, are all gone. She doesn't know where. Probably in the bunker. None of it seems important right now.

He stashes the rest of the cash into his jeans, and they set off down the road.

"Nathan" Max calls out, as he charges off down the road.

"Nathan, will you just wait a moment" She calls, tugging at his arm. "NATHAN!"

She finds herself bellowing at him, trying to get through.

He spins round to face her, his eyes daring her, goading her to mention what just happened.

She wants to ask him about his visions. Whether he saw Jefferson die. Or Rachel. Or Chloe. Or her. She wants to ask about his love for Rachel and how it feels to love someone with every inch of your soul. She wants to ask what it's like to kill a man and if he saw the lights leave Jefferson's eyes. She wants to ask him how he feels seeing them all die, if he too is terrified of death. If the thoughts are eating away at his mind. She wants to ask all of these things, but instead settles on

"Where are we going?"

He breathes out, thinking. "I…" he begins, swallowing harshly, paranoid eyes surveying the street.

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere to fucking go. Nowhere safe anyway"

Max's brow furrowed. She couldn't go to Blackwell, surely they would look there. Or Chloe's house. Or her own.

She feels a strong wind rise up through the back of her jacket, the cold metal of the gun pinching at her side.

"We need to stop this thing right?" She asks him, not waiting for his reply.

"The Lighthouse. I saw the lighthouse fall. Don't ask me why, but I think we should go there" she tells him, only realising now how true that might be.

Something in his head clicks together

He nods silently.

His eyes dart around her, settling on something beyond her shoulder. He grabs her and runs towards the bus pulling up on the other side of the road.

* * *

Through the bus window, Max stares in horror at the dark clouds looming overhead. She turns to stare at Nathan, whose staring down at his hands.

"Nathan" she whispers to him.

He looks up and across her, sighing

"Nothing's changing" he mutters, wringing his hands together in front of him. She reaches over him, lacing her fingers through his, and he squeezes back tightly, swallowing hard.

* * *

She feels like they've been walking for hours to reach the top of the lighthouse, but she knows it's only been a few minutes, if that. The soft breeze from before is getting slightly stronger now. A warning to stay away.

They reach the top and she turns to face him

"What now?" She yells, some of the sound getting swept away in the breeze.

He shrugs his shoulders at her, before looking out over the bay, his eyes fixated. The orange glow of the sun has disappeared under the thick grey clouds above.

"We need to get inside" She tells him, but he's not listening to her.

She sighs and circles the lighthouse, searching for an answer. For some sort of clue. She looks at the bolted door, and tries in vain to open it, shaking the handle and pushing against the metal with her shoulder.

"Nathan" She calls out, willing him to help her.

He doesn't respond.

She walks back around to the bench, to find him sitting on it, his back to her. His shoulders are shaking and she can hear his loud sobs, raw and unrelenting as they wrack through his slender frame.

"Nathan" She whispers, sitting beside him. She places an arm on his back gently, but it make him cry harder.

He holds his head in his hands, his fingers weaving through his brown hair.

"I loved her" He cries

"I loved her so much" he chokes out, tears and snot smeared over his bruised face.

She rubs his back gently, holding him just as she held Chloe in the junk yard. Nathan's words echoing those of the blue haired girl that night.

She wondered if Rachel Amber knew that they both loved her this much. Who had she thought of in those moments before death? Did she love them this much?

The wind snuck in, biting at the gaps in her clothing, the cold metal of the gun pinching her side, and she pulled Nathan closer as his cries got swept away into the oncoming storm.


	8. Chapter 8

"Rachel was beautiful Max" a small, tainted smile surfaced on his face, his eyes dreamlike. "She made me feel normal. She didn't care about the visions. She didn't believe them, but it didn't scare her either. She made me feel so special. Just being around her was intoxicating. The way she laughed, the touch of her skin." He breathed out dreamily.

"My dad hated her, of course" he muttered.

"He kept telling me not to trust her and that lots of people wanted to worm their way into our family but she wasn't _like_ that. I know she wasn't"

"He kept pressuring me to stay away from her. He said that he was trying to protect me. That my mind was too 'fragile'. That I was ill and I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. That she was taking advantage of me"

"I didn't want to be a Prescott anymore. I didn't want to keep seeing what was going to happen to Arcadia Bay. I just wanted to leave. To escape. Rachel. She didn't understand about the storm, but she wanted to escape too."

He took a slow, deep, breath, staring out over the bay.

"I thought I was crazy. No one was listening to me, but I knew it was true. I saw the whales dying on the beach. They were telling me the world was ending. I kept seeing people die. I saw the light house fall. I saw you." His eyes snapped up to meet hers briefly before he carried on "I kept trying to tell them. My dad, Principal Wells, but they just kept shoving these pills onto me. They didn't believe me. I told Rachel and she made everything feel like it would be okay, but I knew deep down it wasn't. I knew she didn't see it.

Then one day, in English class, I saw Rachel." He looked up to meet Max's face. "I saw her body in the ground. I saw her beautiful face, and it looked so scared. I knew she was going to die. I knew and I didn't know how to stop it. I freaked out, started throwing things, muttering on about the storm and Rachel. Everyone else wanted to drug me and send me away. Everyone except Jefferson. He told me he believed me. That he saw the lighthouse fall. For the first time I felt like I wasn't alone" he whispered it.

"He told me he was looking for answers. He was trying to find out what the world wanted. He was trying to find out why we all had to die." His leg was shaking uncontrollably. He sneered "I thought. I thought he was trying to help" another tear rolled down his face and he quickly brushed it away, sniffing "He told me he was trying to capture terror in his photos. He said it was helping him understand."

He shook his head.

"He wasn't what I thought he was" he bit his thumb, his leg still tapping at the muddy ground below.

"He said he'd convinced my dad to build a bunker, for photographs. He said it was a cover. That he needed to tell him something he would believe."

"My dad…" his voice faltered "he's always looking for ways to keep people under his thumb. He gave Jefferson the dark room, and Jefferson kept me under control. They let me put all of the food and water there, to appease me. To keep me quiet. Jefferson said he had to take the photos. That he was looking for something. That it was the only way my dad would agree to the bunker. That was the deal. That's what he told me"

"He told me to bring Rachel there"

Nathan laughed bitterly into his hands. "I'm so _fucking_ stupid" he sneered at himself, his eyes burning, flames flickering behind them.

"He told me that we needed to keep her safe. I really thought we wanted the same thing" he sighed.

Max listened. She didn't know what else to do. She needed to know.

"When we got there. Rachel freaked out. She kept telling me not to listen to Jefferson. That this wasn't right, but I told her it would be okay" The tears fell freely from his face.

"Jefferson said we should drug her. He said we needed to keep her safe. She wasn't listening to me. I was just trying to keep her safe. I didn't know what else to do" his voice trailed away into nothing. So I did it with her. I told her it would be okay" He lowered his head.

"When I woke up, she was gone" He whispered.

"Jefferson said we had to call my father. That he was the only one we could trust" He laughed at that, at himself for believing it.

"He was so nice to me Max" He lifted his head to meet hers. "He hugged me. Do you know how long I have waited for him to do that?" He asked her painfully.

"He told me it was okay. That it was a terrible mistake. That he _forgave_ me. That I was sick and needed help. That he would help me. He would protect me"

"I wanted him to look after me so badly. I'd been waiting for him to help me for so long, I wanted to believe him so much."

He sucked a bitter breath in, searching the bay again for some sort of answer.

"It was all my fault"


	9. Chapter 9

"It's not your fault" Max went to touch his shoulder, but he brushed her away, irritated by the contact.

"Don't fucking start with that shit alright? She's dead because of me."

He clasped his hands together under his chin

"Was he lying?" Max asked him

He looked at her, then chuckles sorrowfully, scratching the back of his neck

"Who Mark?" He shakes his head, pondering the idea

"I didn't think so. Not at first, when we first met. Even after Rachel…" he broke off, swallowing a lump in his throat "He promised it was a mistake. He said he couldn't stop destiny. I believed him." His leg was tapping away at 100 miles per hour, his body becoming more and more jittery. "I should have known my father had something to do with it. Mark would always side with my father. He said it was all a front because he needed to keep his trust."

Nathan stood up, nearing the cliff edge.

Max went to stand beside him, keeping a distance. She felt like he needed that.

"Then I saw his face, when…" Nathan struggled to speak, swallowing hard, "When I shot him. It was weird. I don't even know how to describe it. He spent so long photographing death, trying to capture it. It was like he…"

"…he finally found the answer he'd been looking for" Max finished his sentence for him, and their eyes locked onto each other.

He shook away the memory

"I don't know anymore" he told her honestly, looking into her face.

"Did you know he was going to die?" Max asked, both of them staring at each other. The breeze blowing Nathan's hair over his eyes.

He shook his head. "No"

"Nathan…" Max began, tentatively, nervously. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

"You said you saw me" She began, but she realised she didn't even know what she was going to ask. Should she ask if she dies? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

He looked deep into her eyes then, searching for something in her eyes, waiting for her to ask him.

Once again, she lost her bottle.

"I don't think he was lying." She began and this time it was her turn to swallow the lump in her throat. "When you left that room. He held the gun up at me. He didn't want to shoot me. I don't think he did anyway. He just wanted me to tell him how I felt. It was weird. It was like he was searching for answers. I… I've never felt so scared. That moment, when I thought I was going to die…" She found herself stumbling, but she refused to break eye contact with him. Even after the tears spilt from her eyes. "I.. I wanted him to kill me. I wanted to die. I just wanted the constant fear to end. I just wanted to stop feeling so insignificant, so alone. I wanted… I just wanted…"

Her words were cut off by his warm lips on hers. Gentle, urgent and needy. His hands held her face to his, and she lost herself in him, if only for a moment, before he pulled back away from her. His eyes open and searching hers, waiting for her to respond. Tears rolled silently down both of their faces.

"I'm sorry, I just…" he began

Max touched her lips, the taste of his blood on the tip of her tongue.

"I saw you. All of the time, before you even arrived at college. I kept seeing you up here, by the light house, tears down your freckled cheeks, the wind blowing your hair across your face, a wisp lingering over your lips, telling me how you feel insignificant. I've known for so long that you were important, but in my visions you never knew."

Max stood there, watching his brain trying to figure something out.

"When you turned up at Blackwell, I thought I'd finally lost it. I didn't know what was real and what was in my head anymore. I thought you would notice me. That you'd recognise me, because I'd seen you so many times, and I thought you'd seen me too, but it didn't work like that."

His eyes looked pained as he remembered it all.

"I kept getting de ja vu. I kept knowing what was going to happen but I was powerless to stop it. I knew you would stop me shooting Chloe, and I knew you would hate me and there was nothing I could do."

"I've seen your hurt face standing on this cliff for as long as I can remember, and now you're really here. I've waited so, so long to tell you that you're important. I practiced what I would say a thousand times." He laughed warmly then "and finally it's here, and I panicked because I realised this would be the last time. The last time I see you like this, and I don't know what will happen next. This is the last vision I see before the storm and I don't know if we can change anything anymore. For so long I thought that once I found you, once we got to this lighthouse, you would know what to do. You'd fix everything, but it's not that simple. Maybe we can't change anything, maybe we were never meant to. But you're still not insignificant. Not to me. I'm sorry."

Tears slid down his face as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry Nathan" she whispered, feeling useless. He thought she was going to be his hero. This whole time he had been waiting for her to save them, to save him and she had nothing.

They stared out as the grey clouds drew closer.

"What do we do now?" He asked her, his voice child-like.

She grabbed his hand. She didn't know what she was doing. This whole time she thought if she found the answers then everything would stop, but maybe Nathan was right. Maybe they were never supposed to stop the storm.

She grabbed his hand "We need to warn everyone"


	10. Chapter 10

"How much time do we have left?" She asked him as they made their way towards Blackwell.

"I said I could see the storm. I don't know exactly when it hits. I have no fucking idea." He told her

"Oh… right" she replied, peering round the side of the building.

"Wait Max" he whispered urgently behind her as they looked out over the front of Blackwell. There were a few students dotted about. "What are we going to tell them?"

She shrugged "The truth?" She suggested, before walking round the corner.

He sighed "Are you fucking serious?" before reluctantly following her towards the boy's dormitories.

As they walked across she looked in wonder around her. How could a place that felt so familiar suddenly feel so different? She'd never felt so old.

She headed for the boys dormitories. She knew one person who would definitely believe them.

She knocked on his door, Nathan fidgeting and jumping about behind her. When was the last time he'd had any drugs? He clearly wasn't used to feeling this sober. Every little sound was making him jump out of his skin.

Finally, the door opened and Max felt relief wash over her at seeing his face. After the past day or so, she felt like she'd lost everybody.

"Warren" she beamed, falling into him and squeezing him tight. She breathed into his chest "You're here".

Warren looked wide-eyed at the sight of Max and Nathan in his doorway, before wrapping his hands unconsciously around her. "Hey" he answered, staring straight at Nathan, confused. Nathan looked down, scratching the back of his head, not knowing what to say. He wished they'd thought this through. He was used to people calling him crazy, it wasn't that. He'd gotten so used to being alone with Max and so relieved to finally be able to talk to somebody honestly and without judgement. Now he faced the dawning realization that what they shared up on the lighthouse was over. After all the years of seeing it, it was gone.

"Warren, we need to tell you something, something important" Max urged, stepping away and looking up at him.

Warren looked between them again. We? Since when were Max and Nathan a 'We?'

"Max, where have you been? I tried looking for you after the party. You look…. t _errible_. No offence" He gestured at her now dirty clothes and messed up hair. She couldn't remember the last time she'd looked in a mirror. Nathan, if anything, looked worse with his dishevelled hair and bloodied face. His eyes still slightly bloodshot. His usually pristine jacket streaked with blood and dirt.

"It's a long story. Listen. You have to help us."

Warren was still staring suspiciously at Nathan, his arms now folded, "Did he do something to you?" Warren asked, an edge to his voice she didn't know he even had.

"Wha..?" Max began, forgetting that last time she'd seen Warren, she'd told him to stay away from Nathan. That he was dangerous. In fact. She'd said it to pretty much everybody. She squeezed her eyes shut, frustrated with herself. Oh shit.

"No. Warren. Listen to me. I was wrong about Nathan." She threw Nathan a nervous glance backwards, guilt rising through her stomach and up into her voice. He didn't look up at her, and that made her feel a thousand times worse.

"This. This is bigger than that" She began. Not knowing how to start. How do you tell somebody the world's going to end?

"The apocalypse right?" Warren asked her. He'd had his suspicions. He was, after all, an expert in this area. The animals, the weather. The double moon and the eclipse. None of it made any sense. It was Chaos.

He sighed sadly before looking her in the eye. "It's real isn't it?"

She nodded at him. How many people was she going to have to tell? How many times would she have to see that look as she brought their world crashing down around them?

"Okay. I'm listening. Tell me everything". He unfolded his arms, gesturing to them both.

"I'll tell you on the way. Come on" She said, pulling his arm.

"Wait" he stopped, running back inside to grab something. She huffed. What could possibly be more important than the end of the world?

He'd grabbed their photograph of them both from the party.

"For prosperity, you know?"

She allowed herself a small smile "Come on Warren" she said warmly, tugging at his sleeve.

They ran to Victoria's room. Knocking on the door. She opened it, staring at them in disbelief. Staring at Nathan.

"What the fuck?" She snapped, looking him up and down

Max watched his frightened face struggling to find the words and her heart sank. She'd never asked him how many years he'd been like this. It was okay for her. She only discovered her powers when she was in that bathroom. She'd known what life was like before she felt crazy. The way he spoke to her earlier. "I've seen you here a thousand times" How long had the visions been going on for? How did he feel now that they'd stopped? Did he feel normal, or did it make him feel even crazier without them? How many times had he tried to get people to believe him? How many times had they just told him he was mad?

"We need to tell you something" She stepped in. She was supposed to be his hero, right? That's what he'd said. "and it's going to sound crazy"

"You look like shit Max" She told her plainly, her eyes scanning them.

"I thought you said Nathan was dangerous? Those were your exact words, right?" Victoria asked her, twisting the knife in.

"I was wrong. I was so wrong. Please just listen to me" Max begged her, stepping forward.

"I know were not friends, but this is bigger than that" She touched her arm and Victoria stared down at Max's cold hands on her skin.

"Nathan?" She asked him "Where the fuck have you been? Everyone has been looking for you?"

He stared at her, his bloodshot eyes looked frightened, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

"The storm…" he began, his eyes pleading with her.

She gave him a knowing look "Have you taken your meds recently?" She asked him, her eyes saying she already knew. Her voice was caring though.

"Victoria" Max urged her "Please, just listen to him. He's not crazy. You know deep down he's not. The animals, this crazy weather…" She began. Victoria's eyes were boring into Max

"What kind of game are you playing Max?" She shot at her, her eyes like daggers "Because whatever it is, it isn't fucking funny. You've crossed a line." She pushed past her, reaching for Nathan

"Nathan, sweetie, it's okay, let's just go get you sorted yeah?" She cooed at him, mothering him.

A tear rolled down his face "Victoria, please just listen to me"

"It's okay" she shushed him, rubbing his arm

"No its not." He whispered to her.

Victoria snapped her head back at Max "Is this a fucking joke to you? What the hell have you done to him?" she was practically shouting at her now.

"Victoria will you just listen…" She began, but she didn't want to know

"Everyone thinks you're just some poor, innocent little girl but you're not. You're an evil bitch Max"

"Victoria just stop!" Nathan was shouting at her now.  
Everyone stopped. Everyone was standing still. The other girls were out of their dorms and watching them all, eyes and mouths open.

"Please, just come with me" He begged her.

"Nathan I…" She began

"Erm, listen…" Warren perked up shyly, stepping in front of Victoria "I don't know exactly what's going on either. I just. I believe them okay? I'm probably like, the biggest science nerd here and this weather, it scares me. I think… I think they might be right."

"You really think he can see into the future?" She asked him bitchily "Oh Please"

"I don't know." Warren answered back clumsily. Truthfully "I can't tell you whether he can see it or not or even why. I can't even tell you why the animals are dying. Which, for a science geek, scares the shit out of me, a lot." Max glanced up. She'd never heard Warren swear before. "I just, _feel it,_ in the pit of my stomach. Don't you? Who cares about anything else?" He stood there, waiting for her answer. Max stared up at him then. He really was a good guy. The type where you can see it, all the way down to the bone.

Vicorias eyes softened and she looked up and down the hallway, a dozen eyes all watching and waiting on what she was going to say. Did they look scared? Did they all feel it?

Victoria gave Warren the smallest nod, before wrapping her arms around Nathan. "Okay" she whispered into his ear. "Okay I'll come with you".

Max mouthed a silent 'thank you' at Warren. He looked around at the people staring at them, then cupped his hands around the sides of his mouth, before yelling "Well, you heard them right? Are you coming or what?"


	11. Chapter 11

**So, this story is nearing the end, I think. There's probably only 1 or 2 more chapters left. Thank you to all who have followed, given a favourite or reviewed. Writing this would be pointless if there was no one to share it with. I debated heavily about this chapter. I settled on this. I hope it's not a disappointment. There is sexual content but I just don't write smut very well so it's only slight. The rest is implied.**

Max didn't know how they'd managed to do it, maybe it was in the air, or maybe they had all secretly seen it coming and none of them was as brave as Nathan to say it. She didn't know, but they had managed to get them to come with them, to find somewhere safe. The only problem was there was only one safe place that she knew of.

She didn't know how long they had left, or even if there was time, but she left Warren and Victoria to go and gather as many of the boys from the dorms as they could, whilst her and Nathan ran off to get changed. She peeled the grimy clothes from her body. How long had she been wearing them for? She had just changed her underwear and was about to throw on a pair of jeans when she heard a knock on the door. She grabbed a towel to cover the rest of her body as she answered it.

"Nathan?" She asked. His clothes were fresh. He even wore a different jacket. All of the cuts and bruises on his face seemed to glare at her now that his skin was clean. They stood out obtrusively.

His eyes stared at her, lingering over her mouth "I didn't want to leave you on your own" He mumbled, looking into the carpet. He couldn't tell her that he couldn't bear to be away from her. That every moment he'd been in his room changing sent a shiver of panic down his spine, because she gave him hope and without her he felt empty. He daren't tell her any of that.

"Come in" she pulled him in, closing the door behind him. He stood nervously behind it, trying to look anywhere but at her. His hair was slicked back again now, but a small wisp fell over his face when he looked down. Without thinking she reached out and brushed it away. His eyes darted up at her touch. She left her hand there, by the side of his temple for just a second longer than she needed to. He reached up with his arm and placed his hand over hers, holding her hand up by his face and she felt something urgent within her. She reached up and pressed her lips against his. They were so soft and gentle. She felt his body relax, melting into hers. Their mouths opened and she let her tongue dance with his. His breathing lowered and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her still.

She stepped away slowly, staring up at him. "Do you want me to stop?" She asked him. Max knew his heart still longed for Rachel. She didn't really know what this was between them. She just knew she didn't want the world to end without having felt what it was like to love somebody. When the gun had been pressed against her head. She had wished that she had taken the chance before. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

He shook his head at her silently.

"I don't want to feel insignificant" She whispered, letting the towel fall out of her hands.

His gaze wandered over her body. "You're not" He told her, stepping forward and holding her face in his hands, he pressed his lips against hers.

She felt the heat come off of him in waves as she wrapped her arms around his back, squeezing his shoulders.

His hand reached up and held her neck softly. An urgent moan escaped him as she pushed her body against his.

She slid her hands down, and inside his jacket, slipping it off and letting it fall to the floor. She broke away from kissing him and stared up as she unbuttoned his shirt, his eyes fixated on her, his hand running through her hair.

She pushed his shirt down over his shoulders and watched the rise and fall of his chest. She placed a hand over his heart, then reached up and kissed him again. It was only then that he dared move to touch her, his feather light fingers trailing down her arm.

She let her hands slip down and unbutton his jeans, pushing them down before pushing him backwards onto her bed.

He lay below her and she stopped to look at him. His face looked so peaceful now. She sat above him, and unclasped her bra, dropping it softly onto the ground. She thought she should feel self-conscious, but she didn't. She lifted his hand up to touch her breast before bending down to kiss him again. Was he too scared to touch her?

"I need to know what it feels like to be loved" She told him honestly and his eyes understood her as he rolled himself on top of her and she lost herself in him.

It was then that she finally knew what he meant when he said he'd known her for forever.

* * *

"You swear you didn't know about this before?" She asked him jokingly, craning her neck round to stare up at him. Max's head rested on his chest, letting the rhythm of his breathing lull her as they lay on the bed. She didn't want to leave this moment behind. She thought about what a blessing that must be. To be able to live the same precious moment again and again. A blessing, and a curse.

His arm lay across her front. "No" he whispered, his eyes far away and distant.

"Nathan… are you okay?" she turned her body around to face him.

"Yeah, I just…" he began, looking guiltily at her, he began to rub his fingers together.

"You love Rachel" She whispered and his eyes betrayed him as they flickered at her and away again. Like he'd been caught out.

"Nathan, it's okay."

He lifted himself up, so he could look directly at her "I don't want to hurt anybody" His eyes looked pained. "I can't hurt anybody again. I can't hurt you" his hand swept her hair behind her ear, his thumb stopping to rest at her chin.

"You haven't. It's okay. Honestly." She placed her hand next to his on her face, squeezing it tightly.

"Whatever this is… it doesn't change what she means to you. You're allowed to still love her. You don't need to feel guilty" She wiped the tear from his eye.

"This wasn't…" he began, struggling to find the right words

"I know" She cut in quickly, because she did. She knew this meant more than sex. Whatever it was.

"I could not face the end of the world a virgin" she said cheerily, trying to lighten the mood and failing. Apparently bringing up the impending apocalypse was not funny. Go figure.

She rose from the bed, picking up a clean t shirt. "… and Nathan…"

She turned to face him "Thank you"

His face flushed red. She hadn't had him pinned as the type to get embarrassed about this sort of thing. He gave her a warm, embarrassed smile. "Shut the fuck up and get dressed Caulfield" His harsh words held no anger in them as he rose from the bed.

They changed quickly.

"You sure pick your timing" he carried on, pulling up his jeans "It's not like we haven't got a shit load of people waiting on us or anything" he reminded her.

"I know. I haven't really thought much about what we do next Nathan. I mean, we both know where we have to go, but…" she began

"I know" he cut her off, his voice serious again. "But we've got no other options." He pulled his jacket back on, running a hand through his hair.

"What if he is there?" Max asked him.

"Then I'll deal with it" He told her, an edge to his voice as he pushed open the bedroom door.

She sighed, sprinting off behind him. That's what she had been afraid of.

The wind in the courtyard had picked up, and it was difficult to walk forward now without stumbling from the pressure of it.

"There you are! Max! Where have you been?" Warren shouted at her, some of his words getting lost in the wind, concern in his voice.

Max's eyes looked everywhere but at Nathan. She daren't look at him.

"Just changing, you know what girls are like" She said, quickening her pace, rather than slowing down to greet him. She was cringing even as she said it. When had she ever referred to herself as one of the ' _girls_ '? Could she be any more obvious?

Warren looked between them as they walked ahead, his eyes hardening in suspicion, but he said nothing.

"I sent the others on ahead, using the location you gave me" He told her.

"Thank you Warren, seriously, I owe you one"

"Sure. Listen, my car's round the corner, but we should hurry, things are starting to get crazy out here" as he spoke, a tree branch on the other side of the courtyard suddenly snapped from the pressure of the wind, and swooped across, crashing through a dorm window.

She wondered if she and Nathan had waiting any longer, whether they would be underneath it.

A flash of blue streaked the sky above them, followed by bellowing thunder. It seemed to shake the ground beneath them. Max stared down at it in awe.

"Let's go!" Warren yelled at her, leading the way.

As they rounded the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks, his face sending shivers down her spine.

"Nathan. There you are" He said, his voice horrifyingly slick and smooth amongst the chaos.

Nathan's eyes froze in terror at Sean Prescott standing in front of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay. I've decided I will do one more chapter after this. To polish it off. I wasn't sure how to end this. I'm always better at beginnings, but I did it. (Hooray!) It feels a bit sad that it's nearly over.**

It had started to rain, small at first, and then speeding up, quicker and quicker. Yet still, none of the rain made Sean Prescott's face disappear from their view. He was real.

"I can see you've been busy" His slick black shoes moved calmly towards them, his eyes focused on Nathan. Warren turned to Nathan and Max, a question in his eyes.

Max could see Principal Wells behind him. Mark Jefferson, of course, wasn't there. For a moment she had hoped he would still be alive, that it had been a dream, but it wasn't.

Nathan just watched his father as he came towards him, his bitter words from earlier seemed to have escaped him.

"Nathan. You don't look well." He told him, cupping his son's chin in one hand, forcing him to look into his eyes. Principal Wells stood back, in the distance.

Max glanced across the distance, strands of hair clung to her wet face. The tornado was rising up in the distance. Swirling around, it was hypnotic to watch it.

"I know about Mark. It's okay. We can sort it out. Together." He whispered to him softly, his hand clasping gently down Nathan's neck, to his shoulder. Gentle, but firmly placed.

Nathan swallowed harshly, that flicker of rage reappearing from behind his eyes.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He told him, pushing him firmly by his shoulder.

He shrugged his father's hand away, remaining motionless as his dad tried to lead him away.

His dad looked back at him, his eyebrow slightly raised.

"Did you kill Rachel?" You could barely hear him ask it through the howling of the storm his voice was so quiet. But Sean Prescott had obviously heard him.

He chuckled at him, but it only made the flame behind Nathan's eyes grow brighter.

"Answer the question."

His dad stopped chuckling then, then he sighed "We've been through this Nathan. I know the past few days have been very stressful for you, and you're probably confused right now. We need to get you home. We need to get you some medicine, some rest. You don't know what you're doing when you get like this. Come on. I'll look after you" He went to grab his arm, more forcibly this time, but Nathan pushed him back. Sean Prescott's flew open with indignation, but he tried to hide it quickly.

"Nathan" He said, his voice tinged with agitation. "I know this sort of weather upsets you, but everything is fine. We can wait it out in the bunker if it makes you feel better. I can take you there."

It was Nathan's turn to laugh then, manically. "You still don't believe me? Are you _fucking_ serious?" Nathan sneered, gesturing towards the tornado. "Look around dad!"

Sean Prescott looked at the tornado, and Max noticed he was scared. About as much as Sean Prescott could ever be scared of anything that is.

"Okay. Okay. I believe you. Now come on, Nathan. Let's go" he demanded, his tone losing all of its patience. All of the gentleness to it.

"You didn't answer my question. Did you kill Rachel?"

"Nathan, you know why Rachel died…" he began, irritation cutting through every word.

Warren looked between them, horrified. Max had forgotten that he didn't know any of this.

"I know she died because of me." Nathan began, looking down at the ground, the rain dripping off of his brown locks and onto his shoes. Nathan's dad stepped forward but Nathan stepped back quicker.

"But it wasn't an accident. Was it?" He lifted his head slightly, his eyes glaring out under his eyelids. His fists clenched at his sides.

" _Of course_ it was an accident" His dad began, over emphasising the words 'of course' like it was obvious. "A terrible accident. Just like Mark. It's okay though Nathan, I forgive you"

Nathan started trembling then, "Hah!" he laughed "You? You forgive me?"

Nathan paced back and forth, raindrops falling from his nose. His lips quivering, fit to burst with the things he wanted to say.

"You think I'm so stupid, don't you dad? Mark's death wasn't an accident. I meant to kill him!" He yelled at his father now, his fear had been washed away.

"I looked him right in the eyes as I shot his brains out." He spat, inching towards his dad.

For the first time Sean Prescott looked uneasy.

"He told me dad. He told me EVERYTHING!"

His hand reached under his jacket and a glint of silver emerged from beneath.

"Nathan" his father stuttered "You need to calm down"

"Don't tell me what to do! I am so sick of people trying to control me, of you trying to control me!" he was bellowing now, the gun pointed into his father's stomach. Sean Prescott tried hard not to move as he took short breaths in and out.

"Nathan, don't do this" Principal Wells pleaded.

"This has got nothing to do with you" he shot, before turning back to his father.

"Tell me the truth dad. Tell me that you ordered Mark to kill Rachel. Tell me!" He was screaming into his face.

Max looked on in horror, flashbacks of Chloe in the bathroom whizzing through her mind. Her head felt so heavy, so clouded. She kept seeing that blue butterfly.

"Yes. Okay. I ordered him to do it. It was me. Are you going to shoot me now?" Sean Prescott had managed to suppress whatever fear was in him. Max looked on as his steely, calm voice returned. _What was he doing?_

"Give me one good reason not to" Nathan barked into his ear.

"Nathan. You're such a good boy. I just wanted to protect you. To look after you. You've always been so fragile" Nathan was right. His words did sound sincere. If Max didn't know any better, she would have believed them.

She watched as the flames in Nathan's eyes started to die down.

Sean Prescott must have seen it to, because he carried on

"You've always been such a good son. You try so hard to please everyone and to help everyone. I'm so proud of you."

Nathan's eyes filled with tears, the gun shook as his shoulders started trembling.

"You're a liar" Nathan whispered harshly

"I'm not lying Nathan" his father continued, looking into Nathan's eyes "I understand that you're angry with me. What I did was unforgivable."

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" Nathan shrieked, pushing his father into the wall.

Thunder clapped down and Max saw the tornado dance across the bay, heading towards them.

"It's okay Nathan" His father whispered, looking into his son's eyes, their faces inches apart.

"I loved her. I loved her so fucking much. She didn't deserve to die!" He half sobbed, half screamed into his face.

"I know. You can shoot me. I deserve it"

Nathan laughed bitterly into his father's chest.

"I love you" His father said softly.

Nathan's forehead rested against his father's chest. the rain lashing down on them both. Unrelenting.

Frustration swept over Nathan like a tidal wave.

"FUCK!" He screamed, throwing the gun to the floor. It span out across the parking lot.

He punched the wall behind his father's face.

Hissing from the pain, he grabbed his scraped knuckles in his other hand.

Sean Prescott took a deep breath and Max watched him uneasily. Had that all been genuine? Or was it just another Oscar worthy performance? She felt a deep emptiness within her. Nathan still loved him. Even after everything.

"We're going to the bunker. When this storm is over. We'll be gone. I'll be gone and I don't want to see you, ever again. Do you understand? Nathan said, his voice weary.

"I understand" His father nodded.

"…and Nathan" he added "I meant what I said. I love you".

Nathan's pained eyes looked back at him sadly before turning away.

Max and Warren silently followed Nathan towards Warren's car. Warren went to open the driver door, to get in, when suddenly Max heard him call out "Max! No! Get down!"

She heard the gun before she felt the bullet.

Her head whipped back to see Sean Prescott with the gun pointed at her. She clutched at her stomach, where something wet and sticky smothered her. All she could see was red as she hit the ground.

"Dad no!" Nathan yelled, holding his palm up towards her.

Max felt time stand still, then that familiar blur as it unravelled on itself. She looked down to see the dark, red pool slowly evaporate in front of her until it was a tiny speck, and then it was gone completely. Like it had never been there to begin with.

Max looked over at Nathan, his palm held up at her. She hadn't caused this. She wasn't the one with the power this time. It was Nathan. Yet she could still see it happening. _Why was that?_ She didn't know why she did what she did next, she just knew that she was supposed to do it. Finally she knew what she was supposed to do. She stepped towards him and pressed her palm up against his. "Ah" A jolt went through her.

She saw Chloe and the butterfly flutter through her head. The smell of bacon and dirt and chlorine. She felt cold metal against her head and Nathan's soft lips on her skin. She could see Warren's soft eyes and Jefferson's black, dead ones staring through her. She heard Victoria calling her a bitch and Chloe's laugh in her ears. She was giddy and petrified and lustful all at once. _Was she about to die?_ She didn't know, nor did she care this time. She didn't crave death. Not anymore. She had never felt so truly alive. She opened her eyes.

A dazzling bright light burst through the sky, the rain slowing and eventually stopping altogether. A warm, radiant glow covered their faces, overflowing with generous sunshine and warmth, sweet and brilliant unfettered golden rays littered the sky, the tornado disappearing from view. The tilted flowers lifted their heads once more to smile at the sky, as sunlit clouds drifted across the clear blue up above. The ocean was once again bathed in a golden hue by the gentle sunlight, the water in it as clear as crystal. All over Arcadia Bay people peered out of their windows to watch as the storm died down to a gentle breeze. They stepped out of their houses and into the streets, overjoyed as they basked in its glory.

Max was terrified of breaking away, but she knew she had to. As she did she held her breath, hoping this was real. She turned to see Nathan smiling at her, his smile beaming as brightly as the sky.

"We did it Max" He breathed at her "We actually fucking did it"

They gazed around in awe at the calm that engulfed them.


End file.
